Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mark Sasscer is the founder and CEO of LeadQuest Consulting, Inc., an international leadership consulting and training firm. He holds an MS in organizational development from the American University, a BS in mathematics from Towson University, and is the author of The Change Agent. He lives in Maryland with his wife.

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Accountability Now!

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

Acknowledgments................................................................................................................ixIntroduction...................................................................................................................xiChapter One: Thinking Drives Behavior.......................................................................................1Chapter Two: Principle One: Be in the Moment................................................................................13Chapter Three: Principle Two: Be Authentic and Humanistic.....................................................................22Chapter Four: Principle Three: Volunteer Discretionary Effort Constantly.....................................................32Chapter Five: Principle Four: Model High Performance-Desired Behaviors that Drive Desired Results............................41Chapter Six: Principle Five: Respect and Leverage Separate Realities........................................................50Chapter Seven: Principle Six: Be Curious vs Judgmental........................................................................59Chapter Eight: Principle Seven: Look in the Mirror First-Be Accountable.......................................................68Chapter Nine: Principle Eight: Have Courageous Conversations.................................................................78Chapter Ten: Principle Nine: Provide Timely, Clear, and Specific Performance Expectations and Feedback......................86Chapter Eleven: Principle Ten: Teach, Coach, and Mentor-Spend At Least Half of Your Time Developing Others.....................98Conclusion It's About Progress, Not Perfection!................................................................................105Afterword......................................................................................................................109

Chapter One

"A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes." Mahatma Gandhi "The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind." William James "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." George Bernard Shaw

I begin my seminars by asking a simple question: "Who can you control and change?"

Without fail, people answer, "Me."

Then I ask, "How many of you have ever gotten divorced or broken up, because, at the start of the relationship, you thought that you could change the other person, and subsequently, you failed?"

People laugh. A few sheepishly raise their hands. Once, a woman blurted out, "Three times!"

We think that we understand this concept-that we can only change ourselves. Yet even at these seminars, it's clear that we don't. Rather than face our own issues, we remain focused on fixing the other person. Almost without fail, someone will approach me at the break and say, "I'm really glad so-and-so is here. He [or she] really needs this!"

I'll say it again. You can only change yourself. You can only control your reactions and responses to other people and to the situations that arise in your life. As I write this, the world economy is struggling to recover from a horrific recession. Each of us is choosing how to respond. That response is creating our success, peace of mind, and ultimately, our happiness.

Those who resort to blaming-one administration or another, one financial institution or another-set a trap for themselves. They see themselves as victims of events too large to control, and so they are. They behave as victims, paralyzed by fear and despair, and become unable to perform at their very best, probably making themselves prime candidates for corporate downsizing.

Those who choose a positive attitude, who call on their inner strengths, who nurture a confidence to adapt and thrive, who choose resilience-whatever the economy or life sends their way-create that future. They carry themselves with confidence. Having rejected fear, they are free to think clearly and make sound decisions. That sure-footedness is apparent to others as well.

The good news here is that this means they can find strength within themselves as they respond. The problems of the world don't go away, but they can choose how they manage the impact on their lives. They can reject victimhood and choose to see themselves as strong. They can become resilient.

Let me begin by giving you an idea of how I got to where I am, to this point in my personal journey.

I was born in 1953 and grew up in row house in Towson, Maryland. My dad, Joe, was a steelworker and my mom, Mildred, was a public school cafeteria cashier. My dad and mom worked extremely hard and instilled a strong work ethic in me. Very early in life, I learned the value of hard work and the need for the income it produced. I always had multiple jobs, starting at age ten, because that was what was expected of me.

Unfortunately, my parents were both worriers who lacked self-confidence. There always seemed to be a black cloud looming overhead. The steel mill might go on strike, and my father would have to find other work. My sweet and quiet mother worried day in and day out about what the neighbors thought of her, because, while my father had graduated from high school, she had not, and she considered that a personal shortcoming. If one of the neighbors happened to not speak to her, my mother was sure that she had done something to offend that person. I can tell you that was never the case; my mother was and still is a saint compared to most people. However, her low self-esteem and constant worrying told her otherwise.

Growing up, I heard, over and over again, "What would the neighbors say?" as the reason for me to not do what I was thinking about doing. It seemed as though we were always afraid of something or someone, and it (or s/he) was right around the corner.

In the late '50s, I started elementary school at the Catholic school down the street from where we lived and was taught by the Sisters of Mercy. What I remember most about those years of being in Catholic school was learning to "fear a forgiving God." That was quite confusing to me. You see, I had bought into the entire doctrine that, if I didn't live an almost perfect life (yes, there was the confessional, but it, too, was a scary place for a small child), I would end up going to this horrible place called Hell. Did I get a good education? You bet, but, like many Catholic school kids of my generation, I paid a price for it.

As a result, I found myself both worrying about the future and often feeling guilty about the past. I had learned those things well from my parents and from my interpretations of what I had been taught in school. My sole moments of happiness occurred in sports-on the pitching mound, when I was striking out batters, or on the football field, throwing or catching touchdown passes.

Until age forty, I heard the same voices over and over in my head, telling me that I...